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Biofuel co-products as livestock feed - Opportunities and challenges, Technical summary

Year of publication 2014

Author Animal Production and Health Division

Product type Book (stand-alone)

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) Distillers grains (DG), a by-product of the alcoholic drink and beverages production, have been fed to livestock for several years, initially to pigs and dairy cows. The upsurge in the use of DG was spearheaded by the search for transport fuel other than that from fossil fuels, which in recent years has been supported by a large increase in research funding into the use of co-products. The co-products are the residues after extraction of the biofuel – ethanol or biodiesel. Currentl y, these coproducts are an important feed resource in over 50 countries, for ruminants, non-ruminants and fish. Biofuels contribute to the twin objectives of increasing fuel security and as a tool in the reduction of emissions of green house gases (GHG). As the majority of currently used feedstocks to produce biofuels are crops grown on agricultural land, the requirements for food, feed and fuel must be balanced so that the quest for biofuels does not result in an inflationary ri se in the cost, or shortage, of food or feed. This raises the question of second generation feedstocks from cellulosic sources, the use of crop residues and stubbles and woody material grown on marginal land with a minimum of resources, including irrigation. Also it raises the potential for promoting little-used feeds, from non-conventional feedstocks, of which some may require detoxifying to produce safe livestock feed. The co-products produced by the biofuel industry are disc ussed below in two main headings: a) produced along with the ethanol production, and b) produced along with the biodiesel production.

Language English

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    Climate change and predicted shortages of fossil fuels present major challenges. Currently, biofuel production is from agricultural crops grown primarily on arable land. Conflict with the traditional use of arable land, itself a limited resource, to produce food and animal feed must be avoided and economic sustainability assured. At present cereals, especially maize and wheat, and sugar cane are used for ethanol production, with soybean, oil palm and rapeseed for biodiesel production. The expa nding transport industry requires increasing amounts of biofuels, and an increasing market for co-products has generated a need for new feedstocks. Cellulosic material, often available from sub-prime land with minimal inputs, and other non-conventional sources are being investigated. Before being used as feeds, some seeds and cakes will require detoxification. The contribution of micro-algae, production of which can be achieved in coastal waters, is likely to grow in importance. These developmen ts are mirrored the broadening of the animal species receiving the co-products, from ruminants, especially cattle, and pigs to poultry and fish (aquaculture). Further developments include enhancement of the use of existing co-products and the introduction of new ones. This publication collates, discusses and summarizes state-of-the-art knowledge on the use as livestock feed and future availability of co-products from the biofuel industry. The levels at which the co-products could be safely use d in livestock diets are also presented. Throughout the book, gaps in knowledge and research topics needed to address them have been identified. These include standardization of product quality to assist ration formulation; testing of new products; development of detoxification procedures; research on micro-algae; and life cycle analysis linked to traditional nutritional appraisal. This publication covers a wide array of co-products and is a timely contribution, as people's aspirations are ris ing, evident from the increasing demand for livestock products and an ever greater reliance on transport, coupled with the challenge of maintaining agricultural production when faced with global warming. We hope that the information here synthesized will be useful to policy-makers, researchers, the feed industry, science managers and NGOs, supporting them in making information- based decisions on issues such as food-feed-fuel competition. Hopefully it will help confront the emerging challenges o f global warming, in addition to making efficient use as livestock feed of a wide range of currently available and future co-products from the biofuel industry.
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    Summary of the Technical Paper Part III: Identified challenges and opportunities
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    In order for Codex Alimentarius Members to share information on the results of Genetically Modified (GM) food safety assessments, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) maintains an online database entitled “FAO GM Foods Platform. After a number of Platform members globally requested FAO to host an interactive and face-to-face forum for the members to strengthen technical dialogues and discussions on the issues of their limited experience in conducting a GM food safety assessment and regulatory capacity, a global community meeting of the FAO GM Foods Platform was organized from 10 to 13 September 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand. These are the technical presentations made during the global meeting by focal/alternative focal points to the Platform, invited experts and meeting organizers during the meeting.
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